Symphony of Dreams
by Lady of Revenge
Summary: UNDEFINED HIATUS. Might have continuation elsewhere. AU. Dreams become reality. Reality becomes fantasy. What can a boy do when normal life isn't so normal anymore? When there are other worlds, just outside of his reach. possible Balthier x Vaan.
1. Introducing

16 and half pages of my notebook. That's just how long this first chapter is. Teehee. I got.. inspired. And was suffering from withdrawal symptoms, since it's been a while since I've played FFXII.

**Genre:** fantasy / shounen-ai / AU **Pairing:** could be and probably will be Balthier & Vaan.

**Warnings:** OOC-ness, complicated situations, fast-paced storytelling, boy x boy, cliché.. and stuff like that.

(It's too much to write Balthier's way of talking. He's just... aww.)

Thanks for the beta, Thierry-san!

(I feel so ashamed).

----

_His throat was burning, legs were aching, but he had to run. There was no way he was going to stop. Those monsters were right behind him, he could feel the__ir__ nasty breathing tainting his neck. And goddamnit, he was running low on Potions too.  
An arrow wheezed past his ear and a woman's voice yelled something from far, far away.__**'**__ I'm trying, I'm trying!__**'**__ He wanted to shout back at her, but not a sound escaped him. He kept running and running and finally stumbled. _

_  
He let out a silent yell, cursed in his mind when he hit the ground. The monsters reached him, their legs were long, hairy and utterly disgusting. He would have so gladly thrown a spell at those, but...no. Damn that Silence._

_'Hey, get off -' He tried to say without a voice, blindly moving his sword, the world suddenly very black - he felt heart-wrenching pain, that same woman screaming something.  
"Oh dear boy," someone whispered_

... and he woke up, alarm clock shrieking terrifyingly loudly right next to him. No way in seven hells. That dream. _Again._ He threw the clock away and groggily stumbled out of the bed. He winced, when he stepped on some book that was carelessly laying on the floor. A hiss, a curse - he accidentally crashed against the door - and few steps later he appeared in the the toilet, yawning.

He stared at himself in the mirror and grinned weakly, showing a flash of white, white teeth. Tan skin, ashen-blond hair that stood to every direction known to man. Blue eyes that looked so, so tired. Or positively just dead. He made a face at himself and sighed, grin disappearing from his face.

Vaan von Rosenburg, orphaned at the age of 8, dear big brother having vanished into thin air after that.

After that, his present PE teacher took him in. That was nine years ago. At that time, he had befriended almost every kid living near him, especially his neighbour Larsa Solidor. Although he had to admit, he was very much creeped out by the the older Solidor, Vayne.

All in all, Vaan had quite a normal life. He had friends, he was doing fine at school, his caretaker was strict but good-hearted. Even though he missed his brother terribly. But yes, he had a very normal life, if you didn't mention his weird dreams about fighting and running and someone screaming all the time. He brushed his hair and put on his clothes, tidying himself up a little for his first day in high school. _Yaaaaawn._  
"Good morning," he greeted when he walked to the kitchen. Basch von Rosenburg was a well-built man in his thirties. Even though he might appear silent and scary, he had a good side to him that appeared usually in the form of a very dry humour or a small smile. Also if you thought about the fact that he had voluntarily agreed to take care of two orphans. Or one, now.

"Morning, Vaan," he said quietly and finished his morning coffee. Without it, he would be like a zombie. Vaan sat down and wondered if he should tell his dad about his re-occurring dreams, they were bothering him so much.  
"Don't fall asleep yet. It's your first official day in high school, aren't you happy?" Basch said in his deep voice, but Vaan could just hear him snickering.

"No dad. I'm not. But at least my friends are the same age and few of them are going to be in the same class," he muttered, eating the last bit of his bread. He stood up and went to brush his teeth, humming a song without knowing what it was. Basch raised his eyebrow and took his car keys, thinking only that it was because Vaan was like that. _Air-headed_, adventurous with too much imagination. It wasn't the first time he was singing something without noticing it. Sometimes it had occurred some embarrassing situations, which the boy would gladly forget.

Basch waited patiently, snickering in his mind at his memories. He had grown to love his step-son dearly during those years - he, too, was worried and melancholic about Reks' disappearance -, ever since the day he had seen the blank-eyed little boy for the first time. It had indeed been quite a tragic sight, Vaan and Reks' parents murdered in cold blood. Victims of the crazy serial killer, who had been arrested ten victims and fifty days later after that. But the boys had been very scarred, they had touched that said good side of Basch in a way that nothing had ever done.

"Vaan!" Basch said in a louder voice, when the boy took his time.  
"Sorry, sorry, I was looking for my sock," Vaan mumbled and wheezed past his stepdad. It was nice to live in a terrace, especially when Basch's salary wasn't the greatest. It would be also nice to live in a big, big house.. yeah, a boy can dream, can't he? The quiet man sighed, knowing exactly what was going on in his son's mind. He didn't say anything, but followed him outside.

The morning was hot, as usual, but there was still a lingering feeling of mist, remnants of the night before. The signals of the autumn to come. Even though Vaan was a deep sleeper and hated early wake-up-calls as every other teenager out there, these kind of silent mornings he did love. Those moments when the whole world was slowly waking up. Vaan stretched out and grinned, waving to Larsa, who was getting into the car with Vayne. The smaller boy waved back and smiled.

Vaan was struck with confusion, when something absolutely weird happened. It made him blink and stare at Larsa's retreating back. For a second, it seemed like there had been a shadow next to him, for a small moment there was an image of Larsa looking very grim with strange, old-fashioned clothes. There was an air of... royalty around him. Vaan blinked again and the image was gone, like it had never even been there.  
"Vaan?" Basch's voice floated into his ears and snapped him back out of his trance.  
"N-nothing, I'm just tired," he grinned and stepped inside the car.

The ten-minute-ride to the school was silent and comfortable, the back lights of the Solidors' Mercedes blinking far ahead. It didn't take long for the white building to appear to their vision. _Galbadian High_ was a normal, but appreciated school led by the strict, but gentle Ondore. It got its' name from the national flowers, rare, but gloriously red galbadian lilies. They only grew in few places, one of them being around the school. No one dared to touch them and no one even wanted. Too beautiful. Vaan saw them coloring the grass around the school in flaming red and stopped for a second.

He gulped and suddenly felt the loss of his brother Reks much heavier. It was horrible to not know what had happened to him, although it had been years when he had disappeared. Galbadian lilies had been very important to him, his favourite flowers.  
"Vaan." Basch's hand on his shoulder felt strong. The blond boy grinned awkwardly.  
"I'm okay, dad. Seeing those lilies just triggered a memory o-of Reks..." his voice faded and he scratched his temple.

"Vaaaaaan!" Before he got to continue, something small and blonde tackled him, almost sending him to the ground.  
"Penelo, please!" Vaan couldn't help but laugh back at his friend.  
"So good to see you again!" The blonde girl said and batted her eyelashes towards Basch, who only shook his head and patted Vaan's back.  
"See you around, kid." Two blondes waved and started to walk towards the entrance, chattering happily.

"Your dad's hot. Think we should hook him up with that home economics teacher?" She asked innocently. Vaan burst out laughing.  
"No way, dad's so used to being a single, he'll flat out refuse! But the idea is funny, thanks for that. Even though I think know you asked that just for laughs.. you're not the fangirl-ish type... I hope," he said and frowned. Penelo just grinned and nodded.  
"Someone needs to take care of you two bachelors, you know. The mighty Penelo's up for that task!" She bounced forward and ran, when Vaan tried to tackle her. That way they moved, earning amused stares from their fellow schoolmates. "Hey Vaan! Penelo!" A yell made them stop suddenly and crash against each other.  
"Kytes!" Penelo tackled him too, giggling. Vaan followed and they grouphugged, since they hadn't seen each other for ages.

"Wonderful, wonderful! What's up?" After the necessary chattering, Vaan started to wonder.  
"Hey guys... have you seen Larsa anywhere? Did he already go in?" He suddenly remembered and looked at his old friends. Penelo shrugged, but Kytes scratched his head and said:  
"I think I saw him going in with that creep-of-a-bro - , I mean you-can-call-me-Vayne Solidor." "Okay, I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to talk to Larsa. Bye!" He grinned and left, leaving Penelo and Kytes behind.

He found his way easily up the few steps and into the crowd of students. There were few familiar faces, exchanged grins and yells and Vaan was gone again. He was a master at that, great at parkouring, acrobatic and it had earned his most famous nickname: street rat. That he was called many times, when he reached the Hall.

Yes, _THE_ Hall.

It was like a very large room that could fit like thousand people - in Vaan's eyes, that is - and was used for ceremonies and other events. Vaan's blue eyes scanned the crowd. Damn Larsa for being so tiny... oh there was Vayne, smiling that creepy as hell smile...and there was mr Jules, probably groping some woman..and that gorgeous, darkskinned lady there with that distinct white hair had to be one of the teachers. Vaan had to admit, she was the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. And... he froze on the spot.

W-who on earth was_ that?_

Tall man was talking with the dark-skinned woman - he barely reached her jaw - and smirking slightly. Vaan could see that he was very handsome, but that was not the reason why he froze so suddenly.

There was something oddly familiar about him.

About the way he brushed his short, light-brown hair with his fingers, one could see the glimmer of rings. The way he nodded from time to time to what the woman was saying, answering too sometimes. Vaan didn't realize he was staring like some idiot at the pair, until someone tugged his sleeve.  
"Come on, Vaan, what are you doing?" He followed the amused-looking Larsa to the seats near the front, terribly close to that enticing pair. Vaan stared at his lap and felt his face flush, when Larsa chuckled next to him. The poor blond had never shared with anyone that he felt terribly shy when faced with gorgeous people.  
"What are you blushing there about? Those two?" Vaan didn't dare to look, since he knew perfectly well who his friend meant.  
"Larsa - !"

"I know, those two are good-looking. Just look around, you aren't the only one who thinks so. In this city gorgeous people get the credit, the looks, the admiration, you know," the smaller boy said and smiled a little. Vaan missed the sadness in his voice.  
"Good fortune to get them to guide us. They seem to be good people. At least according to what Vayne told me, he said that - "

"Larsa, please, I don't - "

"- Sure you don't want to hear who they are," his dark-haired companion snickered and went quiet. Vaan gave him a questioning look which made Larsa snort.

"Okay, okay. I know very little so pay attention. They have a long history together, it seems. They have seen lots of things, many countries, places you didn't even know that exist. They are like _Lara Croft_ in two bodies. I wish - - oh hey mr Bunansa, miss Viera!" Larsa babbled on, until he snapped back to reality to wave his hand. Vaan frowned at him, he had not missed the words_ 'I'_ and _'wish',_ but he couldn't wonder that much more, since his mind went elsewhere in a mere second.

Larsa had greeted those two very politely, not at all fazed by the fact, that those two moved closer to them.  
"Good morning, young master Solidor. I presume you are in good health today as well as yesterday?"

_That voice._

Vaan's poor head was in overload, already forgotten all about his worry over what was troubling Larsa. That voice! His hands twitched in his lap and he felt very weird. He was so sure he had heard that voice somewhere. So painfully familiar, so very, very polite, so glorious it made him feel agony. He didn't look up, scared of what he would see on closer inspection.

"Don't scare them," the woman, miss Viera said quietly. Vaan didn't dare to even move.  
"You and your young friends hopefully do not mind us sitting here. It is way too crowded over there for our liking," in the voice of mr. Bunansa a hint of annoyance could be heard. Larsa shook his head.  
"No, sir, it's no problem at all." Vaan could have kicked his friend.

_You...you...just shut up._

But unfortunately the air-head was a bit too kind to do that, so he ceased all action. Until the moment a hand appeared in his vision.

"May I ask what is your name, my young friend?" Vaan opened his mouth but nothing came out. He didn't understand why he felt so panicked, pressured. Could it be that the mere presence of those two, who had such strange auras, amused eyes, was making him that way? He gulped and grabbed Bunansa's hand. The latter shook it and chuckled in a way that made Vaan's heart almost stop. The man's hand was rougher than his, it squeezed his slender fingers with care and warmth.

"I-I'm Vaan, sir. Vaan von Rosenburg," he mumbled, hating himself and Baschs' royal-sounding surname for a second. "Such a pleasure to meet you. Would you be offended, if I called you Vaan?" The blonde quickly shook his head, having the terrible need to not to be rude. A chuckle.  
"Fine thing, Vaan. Anyhow, until the time for the introductions, we will be sitting here, pay us no attention at all," the man said, sounding way too amused.

Larsa then saw his chance - glancing at miss Viera, seeing that the woman was staring forward with a distant look in her eyes - and said: "Sorry about Vaan here, he gets really shy when faced with strangers." Now the tall lady turned to look, a hint of smile on her face.

"I see," she answered and shook her head, agreeing silently with herself about something.

Vaan could have strangled Larsa and himself, if the opening ceremony hadn't started that moment. For the start, all of their headmaster's talk went past his ears, the presence of the two - especially the man - making him feel tingly and uncertain. It bothered him greatly, since both of them had something that made them somehow very familiar. He knew he had never seen them before, but still, he couldn't shake off that feeling. Not he nor Larsa saw the look those two passed to each other.

All of the students ceased their chattering, rest of them found their seats, when a grey-haired man appeared in the front, small smile on his face.

"Students. Teachers. Good day, good day. Few of you know who I am, so for the majority who don't know, let's start by introductions. I am Ondore, your most humble headmaster," he said with a poker face - there was a smile, Vaan was sure of it, it somehow made him feel better - and bowed a little. But he looked tired, Vaan noted. Dark circles under gentle, misty-grey eyes. He liked Ondore already, he didn't seem like one of those stuck-up tightasses that he had seen in his old schools.

"First, mr Vayne Solidor, could you stand up?" Vaan turned his head to see the said man did as he was told and snort slightly. Someone shifted beside the blonde and he quickly turned back. He did not want to look at the man that was going to be their history and philosophy teacher! Terrible. That guy was like a sneaky snake. Those lessons were going to be lots and lots of pain. Vaan heard a snicker and twitched, trying to concentrate on Ondore and not the people who were sitting on each side of him.

On Basch's turn, few squeals could be heard. Fangirls were really everywhere.

Vaan felt a pang of pride and grinned when he saw his dad's dark eyes settle on him and a smile cross that handsome, gruff face. Ondore nodded on an on and smiled.  
"These upcoming years we will host few visitors in our school. Mr...Balthier Bunansa will be teaching you about literature as the assistant of our professor Crowley," the headmaster said. Vaan couldn't stop himself from looking, when the man next to him stood up.

"It is purely my pleasure, master Ondore," Balthier said in a silky tone, smirking slightly. For a fleeting moment his gaze passed by Vaan, the blonde suppressing a shiver. The Hall was deadly silent and staring openly. _C'mon, now people._ They started clapping right the moment Ondore looked at them, frowned and told them not to be rude. Balthier chuckled, bowed and sat back down, being very happy with himself for making such an impression.

"Miss Fran Viera in the one in charge of the girls' PE group. Be good and give her a helping hand," mr Ondore said and smiled. Fran only nodded and sat back down, her eyes never settling on anything, it's like her mind was elsewhere, not really here. Vaan continued his fidgeting and unconciously slid closer to Larsa.

The ceremony ended right after Ondore had bid them all final welcome and ordered the teachers to guide their students to classes to start the day.

--

The three-hour-day went by in a flash, with plenty of talking and how-have-you-beens. Three hours felt like five minutes, mostly to a certain blond and his friends, when they reached the literature class. Fangirls seemed ready to attack anytime and even the boys were expecting the class. The two new helpers had raised a lot of questions and curiosity in all of them, after all, their city of Rabanastre was filled with, yes, normal people. That intriguing pair was certainly not normal.

Vaan had agreed to that too, but it was not making him curious, it was making him more nervous than ever. Larsa, that sneaky little bastard, had told Penelo about the enigmatic pair who had been sitting by them at the ceremony and how Vaan had acted like a school girl with a crush. Vaan wanted to say it wasn't so, something was wrong, different. But he couldn't, why would they believe his crazy dreams? Those visions?

He let Penelo and Larsa drag him to sit in the front, he didn't resist. Disturbed was the right word for him. He stared at the door, not paying any attention to Crowley. Balthier should be here... _then_ the man was there, smirk on his face, hand dangling with the hem of the white shirt, brushing past his hips.

But Vaan didn't see it, he saw something else.

It was Balthier, but it wasn't. This one had a dangerous edge to him, eyes were so sharp like a blade. Even his clothes were weird, old-fashioned with a gold-decorated vest - were those trousers real leather? - there was a big gun clutched in his hand, _pirate, pirate, _little voice nagged. _Without a sky a pirate is nothing._ This Balthier stared at something, smirk appearing. He was saying something and the image was _gone -_

"Vaan?" The blonde blinked rapidly. It was Balthier - this time the real one, or was the image-Balthier real too? -, whose face was only few inches away from his. Vaan could hear snickering around him and he quickly backed away.  
"S-sorry, I was just..." Staring at you like you have two heads and thirty eyes or something? A hand patted his shoulder. With a strange glimmer in those eyes, Balthier smiled.  
"I see." That's all he said. The blond staggered, trying to find some words, but failing and hiding his face behind his hands. Balthier had slid away to sit in the corner of the room to observe with a small smile in his _terribly handsome face_. Vaan couldn't concentrate on what the old literature teach, professor Crowley was croaking on about. He was staring at his hands all the time. That vision... what in the world was that?

"You okay?" Larsa leaned forward and poked his temple. Vaan flinched and nodded, not at all sure if that was the right thing to do. Would it really hurt to tell the truth?  
"No worries, in a minute you'll be getting out of here." No joking, just a serious face that eerily reminded Vaan of the vision he had seen this morning. Maybe some part of Larsa noticed that everything wasn't alright, even though his blond friend hadn't told him. He notified the dazed Penelo and stole small glances in Vaan's direction from time to time. He was sneaky like that, that Larsa, the rich brat with too much time on his hands. He probably had devoured his brother's library, all the books about kings and queens and philosophy and psychology. Really, he was 16 and knew lots of things that kids that age shouldn't know.

Sneaky little bastard indeed.

But as much of a prodigy as Larsa was, he could not see the reason behind Vaan's little odd behaviour. The blond felt bad for not saying anything, but he couldn't. It was enough that those two could see that it all related somehow to the dashing stranger, perhaps to his dark-skinned companion. They couldn't be more right. Vaan had seen those weird dreams of his for two years, but the first time he saw a vision had been this morning. The same morning when those two came.  
It was their fault.  
It had to be.

He wasn't going to stay here any longer, up and gone he was and crashing against somebody just outside the classroom.

"Oww..."

"Be careful of your step, Vaan," the soft, singing voice said. The boy gulped and raised his head up and up, damn that one for being so tall, even adding those high heels. White hair circling around the dark-skinned face, stunning in its exotic beauty, that intriguing agelessness. How old she was, Vaan didn't know, but he wanted. Just a little piece of a proof, that she was really a human, like that - _pirate? Where did that come from?_ - man there. Fran's hand on his felt cold, her nails like cats'. No vision. Not a single flash of anything weird. Vaan felt a little relieved.

"Yeah, miss Viera, I'm sorry! I'm in a hurry," he shook off his doubts and confusion and managed to flash a grin. Fran let out a little sigh and nodded, heels clicking against the floor as she went on her way. Vaan didn't even wave goodbye, he had to get out of here. He ran down the steps, taking three at once, his bag smashing against his back. He didn't care, out, out,_ out_, oh, the scent of Galbadian lilies slid from somewhere far and he knew he had managed. He took a deep breath and looked around him.

Basch had told him to wait, to look for him, since he could take a little longer than Vaan. That _"little longer"_ meant only few minutes, so...

Hey, _hey!_

_Wait a second!_

Basch was already _there!_

Or...

_oh shit._

That homey brush of straw-yellow dreadlocks. Gaze harder than any diamond. It was and wasn't. Vaan froze for the third time that day. He wasn't seeing things. It was Basch and still wasn't, it was this weird image of him, exactly like it had been with Larsa and Balthier earlier that day. That stranger had Basch's face, body, hair, but his eyes were so different. So hard, hurt, yet they held such loyalty - to whom? -, the sledgehammer that was merciless in his grip, the icy-blue shield clanking against his armored legs. Vaan knew that if he blinked out, it would be gone in a flash, like it had appeared. But still -

a moment and there was nothing but Basch and his suit and pleasant breeze of the wind. Vaan sniffed and let out a tired sigh. Three times for one day. That's too much. Basch didn't ask anything, just patted his son on the head and drove away.

The scent of the flaming lilies followed their way, waiting for their return.

---

Rewievs are always welcomed with open arms!


	2. Heartaches and Dreamspiders

Firstly, I'm terribly sorry that this comes so late. Everytime I tried to start writing, nothing came out.

Well, I have now finished Final Fantasy XII, life is much more fun (and tiring, but still fun) to me now. But I haven't stopped dreaming...

And I do realize that writing like this is annoying. D: I want to write in present time, not use the word 'was' but 'is.' Oh well.

**Warnings:** bratty!Larsa, confusing confrontations, more visions, weird creatures, Flirty!Balthier etc.

**Disclaimer:** don't own FFXII. Wish I did, though.

--

"_I'll show you how it's done," the man said and his smirk was maddening, cunning. That self-confident bastard, some might have said. He stepped forward and drew fine lines into the air, eyes narrowing, the smirk never disappearing. _

_The monster growled in pain, when the Quickening hit it._

Vaan was making faces to the mirror. That dream! What the hell was wrong with these dreams! Not one night went by without seeing himself and some strangers running around in forests, wintry mountains, cities and fighting battles with creatures that do not exist. Vaan was making faces for whole five minutes. He had pinched himself a few time yesterday, trying to make sure that it was still reality. Yesterday when _they _had come - _"Such a pleasure to meet you" -_ and he had dreamed about these battles, monsters unimaginable.

But, after five minutes of face-making, Vaan let his realistic side take control and think it was just his overactive imaginations. There were no other worlds, no creatures with sixty eyes and wings, no other-wordly Larsa or Balthier, they were all just his imagination. Even if his mind tried to nag, that those visions had been painfully real.

They weren't.

They _couldn't be._

"Vaan - "

Stopping himself on tracks, poor Basch raised his eyebrows, as his stepson's eyes grew large and the boy let out a loud yell. He hadn't seen him in the mirror he was facing, _no, _he had seen the blond man was and was not Basch, a hammer in his hand, his steel-grey eyes fixed on the boy.

Vaan turned around and stared wildly at his stepfather. The blond was feeling quite a bit embarrassed.

"N-nothing. I was just... seeing... t-things," Vaan muttered and scratched his neck, feeling the his face heat up. Basch half-smiled at him.

"I shouldn't have gone behind you like that. My apologizes," he said and turned to return to the kitchen.

"Go eat your breakfast. We'll be leaving in ten minutes," he added.

Vaan put his hand on his still-beating heart, barely hearing his dad's words.

"What the hell!" He hissed and quickly left the bathroom, still a little shaken. It couldn't be just his imagination acting up like that. Vaan wasn't really sure what to believe. His own eyes or his mind.

After half an hour, they arrived to the school, Vaan bidding a quick goodbye to Basch and running to meet his friends, who were talking and laughing near the entrance.

"Hi Vaan!" Penelo chirped. The blond waved back and then he made the mistake of turning his head to watch the galbadian lilies for _half a second. _

When the turned... there stood strangers.

Penelo who was not Penelo, blonde hair, strange clothes, sad expression.

Larsa who was not Larsa, this small royality in laced shirt and a sword tied to his hips.

Vaan stared. They stared.

"Vaan?" The boy blinked and everything was back to normal again.

"You're awfully pale. Are you okay?" Penelo asked and came closer, her finger poking his cheek. Larsa snickered a little, but worry was clear in his chocolate-brown eyes.

"Yes mom, I'm okay," Vaan answered, brows furrowed, trying to grin and succeeding. It was easy to play silly blond kid, when you were a silly blond kid.

Penelo's smirk was instant.

"Ooooh. I get it! Spent all night dreaming about the enigmatic pair, did ya?" She was elbowing him now and Vaan opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"No, I wasn't!"

"Yes you were!" The blond girl was dancing away now, dodging Vaan's attacks. Larsa was rolling his eyes, amused smile on thin lips. After few minutes of dodging and attacking, Vaan finally got Penelo and tickled her, she giggled and pushed him away. They would have gone on, if it weren't for Larsa's annoyingly cheery chirp:

"Good morning, miss Viera!"

Both blondies froze on their tracks, turning to look at the tall woman who had walked near them. Penelo instantly jumped to her side, grinning like a mad cat. Fran watched them with slight interest, one dark hand on her hip, white hair on high ponytail.

Vaan shifted nervously and looked away.

"Morning, children," her voice was low and sensual. Vaan dared to look at her and wince, when she was staring right at him, ageless eyes expressionless.

"M-morning, miss Viera," he stuttered, the choking feeling growing larger in his throat. The lack of visions from her was disturbing, even more when the visions actually appeared.

"Vaan." She answered, her long-nailed fingers touching his sholder.

Then there was only the slight clicking of her heels against the pavement.

Vaan turned around on the spot and ran.

"Oi! Vaan!" Penelo yelled after him, mocking words dying on her lips.

"What in the world is wrong with him," she tilted her head a little.

"I was just joking," now she was starting to pout.

Larsa snorted next to her.

"I would have run away too," he muttered and smiled innocently, when Penelo shot a dangerous glare to his direction.

--

After two hours, Vaan's fears were threatening him again. Merciless schedule said_ "literature",_ and already he was imagining the lazy purr of the smooth voice and hazel eyes and... _and... Jesus, what was he thinking! _He was sitting at the back of the class, head buried behind his arms, feeling heat come up his face.

His train of thought was really going to a wrong track, thinking stuff like _that _about the foreign man. Penelo was poking him, her long nail digging between his ribs. Larsa was, in turn, poking her and Vaan was trying to keep them both from doing that.

"Let me be," he whined and couldn't raise his face.

"No way Vaan - !" Penelo's brows were furrowed.

"You're acting really weird, you know," she finally stopped, after few long, torturous minutes, arms crossed, pout on her face.

"You're all jumpy and it's getting annoying," Larsa added and leaned forward, poking Vaan's cheek.

"What is it about those two? We know you're all shy around strangers, but this is getting - "

"...guys," Vaan raised his head and looked at his friends, pouting a little, hands fidgeting nervously.

"I... " hesitation.

"I can't tell you." Penelo frowned, Larsa tilted his head.

"They are..." Vaan was mumbling now, drawing circles on his desk.

"Good day, kids!"

_Ah, great, my saviour!_

Relief washed over Vaan. It's not like he was going to tell his friends about the visions. They were just going to think he was being stupid. Well, they thought anyway that he was stupid, but he didn't want to make them think that he was even more stupid.

Or something. This was confusing.

Vaan coughed and turned to watch old professor Crowley, only to see _him _smirking knowingly at the boy. The blond paled, eyes wide. Even without any visions, Balthier seemed like a predator, pretending to be nice and lazy, a predator who had found _his prey._

Vaan quickly shifted back on his seat, hearing Penelo's snickering and Larsa's sigh.

"Shut up," he muttered and felt his heart shrinking in his cheast.

This other-wordly feeling... blue eyes gazing to the front.

Balthier didn't look his way, he nodded to professor Crowley few times, his rings gleaming in the light. Vaan stared at him, watching the slightest movements, trying to figure where the awful familiarity came from.

_In some other life?_

He was sure they hadn't met before.

Pretty sure.

_In some other world?_

Vaan blinked and Balthier stared at him, predatory fire in his eyes growing larger. The blond's face heated up, he turned away, embarrassed, that the man had caught him staring.

"_You like my face that much, eh, Vaan?" _

What?

Blue eyes looked up again, Balthier waved at him. He couldn't have spoken. No one had turned to see, no one had noticed anything, they were scribbling quietly and minding their own business. Crowley croaked from afar, but his words had become a mumble.

Balthier got up.

"What?" Vaan turned and saw Penelo chattering with Kytes. Other friends, totally ignoring him.

Balthier took a few steps.

The blond boy turned around again and saw more classmates, acting, like he was only thin air.

"Hey guys - !"

He tried.

Balthier's face was dashing.

"Do not be in vain, dear boy," he said and the fingers that reached and touched Vaan's chin were surprisingly gentle. "Hey, mr. Bunansa, what - " The older man finally smirked. "It's reality. All of it. Reality."

Vaan blinked. "Reality? Do you... how do you? Do you know about - " This... dream-Balthier's –_ this must be a dream, why were the others acting like he wasn't there? _- eyes were soulful and beautiful. The blond's tanned cheeks were slightly colored red. "I know what you have seen. It is reality," Balthier repeated and goodness, his voice was smooth like silk. Vaan opened his mouth but the only sound that came out was a wince.

"If you believe, you may be able to see more. Even another world beyond this one..." the older man said and his voice had a sharp, cutting edge. The blond saw him, was staring at him but his eyes must be deceiving him...

.. only then noticing, that it was indeed dream-Balthier, the clothes, the gold-decorated vest, the leatherpants – oh god, were they real leather? - and the gun at its holster. This dream-Balthier was smiling at him and Vaan was getting terribly scared. He looked around and the time around him was frozen, his classmates were chattering like usual, Crowley was croaking from the front, but their voices seemed.. blurred out.

Vaan turned to look at dream-Balthier again and found the older man's smile get wider.

_"Believe,_ Vaan. You are not going mad nor having any kind of trance, this is real."

Only one blink and the class was normal again, Crowley's croak getting louder and Vaan's classmates were nudging his elbow. The blond gasped, rubbed his eyes, stole glances around him, before... Balthier was scribbling notes in the front, one muscled leg thrown over the other, his eyes on his notepad and his pencil. He was dressed normally.

Vaan bit his lip.

What the hell was that? First time that the vision had stayed that long, had he really heard the man speak? The same, smooth voice, but the words were different and the glint in the hazel eyes was undeniably dangerous.

"Vaan? You're okay? You were spacing out for a while," someone nudged his arm again, this time the blond turned to smile brightly at Penelo.

"Nothing's wrong, I was just thinking - "

"You? Thinking? That's unbelievable," Larsa cut off his sentence and smiled innocently at him. Vaan threw his pencil case at the smaller boy and then they all three started to laugh.

But even laughing, the blond boy couldn't help but steal glances at Balthier. Was he just seeing things?

Not once did the man look back at him.

The day went on and on, boring, ordinary, just like any other... except for the fact that Vaan saw the vision with Penelo. Saw her with two pigtails, the same adorable grin, but then there was the clothing and the glint in her eyes that didn't belong there. It was gone in a blink and left behind a terrified boy and a confused girl, when Vaan nearly shrieked and ran away.

--

That night Vaan dreamed. This time he saw the people he was with properly, saw _Balthier _and_ his flashing _gun_ – "Let me show you how it's done" - _and his sarcastic comments, saw_ Fran _and her_ clicking heels and bow and bunny ears, _she was towering over many men like that.

_They were fighting with him, fighting against a larger enemy, a giant spider and its nasty offsprings. There was Fran and her deadly arrows, one tiny spider fell with a ear-splitting scream. _

"_Don't stand there, Vaan, fight it!" A woman's voice said and when the blond turned, he saw ashen-blonde hair and short skirt and steely eyes. _

_Who was this? _

_He blinked and looked around, saw Balthier at the other side of the dark hall they were, saw him smirkig slightly and shoot the giant spider in one of its legs. _

"_O-oh.. right," he barely dodged an attack shot at him by a tiny spider. He attacked, healed himself, healed others when he saw Penelo down at the ground, her breathing ragged. Or Basch growling under his breath when the giant monster's leg hit his side. _

_They managed to beat the giant monster and get out of the cave before it collapsed. They looked at each other, few smiled, one smirked, one ran around and was happy to be alive._

_This was real, the sky he knew that was there, behind all these walls, it was a sky much larger than anything. _

_The world that he knew was out there... it was a world in where he belonged._

Waking up had never been so hard. It took Vaan a moment to realize what did these tears on his face mean. There was a world somewhere out there, a world that was much different than this one – _Ivalice, Ivalice, whisper the trees – and much more beautiful. _

Vaan lay still on his bed for the rest of the night and stared at his ceiling. Stared at it as long as the first rays of sunshine hit his room. When the last thoughts of the dream escaped.

What in the world was he thinking about?

It was just a dream. But his heart hadn't ached this bad since the time Reks died and took with him half of his soul.

At morning, when he heard Basch stumble to the kitchen, curse slowly at the doorframe or the bookshelf – he usually hit his leg or head or hand in something every single morning – and start to make himself coffee, then Vaan got up, wiped his eyes.

"Dad..." he started and saw the blond man turn to look at him and then frown.

"Dad," Vaan repeated and his voice broke. How could he tell? That a mere dream that reminded of some videogame made him cry. So childish and idiotic and -

"We made a promise," Basch said when Vaan bit his lip, trying not to cry again. The older man didn't cope well with crying people, especially when it came to his step-son. He didn't know what to do, just say words that could do only harm.

"Dad, I know.."

"We made a promise to tell everything when your brother passed away, didn't we?" Basch reminded him gently, patted his head. Vaan felt like a eight-year-old again.

"Dad.. it was just a stupid dream. A dream about.. about... _Ivalice." _

Pressed against his step-father's strong chest and steadily beating heart, he didn't saw the recognizition, the surprise in Basch's face.

--

Dundundun. Sorry it was kind of short. And yeah, Vaan started crying just because he realized that there is a place that's much more his home than the one where he currently is. So he just misses it. Kinda.

I'm a little lost with this story. Hmmhmm.


	3. Stories and Skypirates

First of all, I am really, really, really sorry that I haven't updated for such a long time. 2008 was a very stressful year for me and writing just didn't come to me, even if I had wanted to. Even now, I am going through a rough time.

Anyway, I started to play XII again and thus, revived my eternal love and yearning for Ivalice. Thus, I'll be continuing this.

Though I've been thinking, that perhaps this would best fit in the FFXII-timeline after the game, but way before Revenant Wings. All the confusion about the time and memories that Vaan has – remembering that he has lived in our modern world with Basch and his brother – can be straightened out by saying the usual thing in fantasy fanfiction:

the times in the two worlds are different. Or the fact that... whoops, I almost spoiled you.

Warnings: OOCness (but that can't really be helped), more confused Vaan, plotholes (wait, does this have a plot?) and Balthier being mean.

–

_He didn't realize why it was so dangerous to say their names. Basch von Rosenburg didn't even sound that ominous! So the first thing Vaan did, when they met this short, dark-haired person – clearly a royalty, those clothes looked really expensive and clean – was to tell Basch's name aloud. _

_Balthier sighed and thought ".. moron." _

_Later on, when they were running from a group of lizard people, heart pounding in their chests, running and running and running, Balthier occasionally sending a bullet towards their chasers or the zombies emerging from nothingness, Vaan didn't have time to think about moronic stuff or what was for dinner. He only had time to think about the fact that he was actually damn scared. Or would have been, if he hadn't been in such a company. _

_Balthier seemed to enjoy the chase, like he seemed to enjoy life in general. Even Fran, whose heels were clicking whose long white hair kept brushing her back as she ran first, her long legs taking far larger steps than any, even she seemed to be content. Well, those guys were skypirates anyway, in the middle of their illegal deeds, they were pretty much used to it by now._

_Vaan's yearning for skypiracy grew and he tried to run faster, nearly forgetting that the ones yelling and running behind them, would tear them apart if they got them. _

_Just when they managed to shake off those nasty predators, when they reached the stairs leading out of the mines, just when they nearly saw the great sky... _

Vaan groaned and accidentally banged his head on his desk. He had fallen asleep in the middle of a class. _Again. _Penelo giggled behind her hand next to him and called him an airhead in a hushed voice. Luckily, the teacher of chemistry was practically deaf – or just uncaring – and didn't seem to notice the two blondes at all, scribbling her notes on the blackboard, going on and on about things that didn't matter at all, Penelo copying sentences with eagerness, Vaan staring out of the window and diving back into that dream-like trance he had been for the past week and a half. Just a week, that felt like a month. So much had happened. But.. he frowned. What's with the skypirate-thing, that seemed to visit his dreams so very often? Pirates didn't sail in the sky! That was impossible. No such air-crafts existed anyway. Vaan just knew that, he had been interested in space ships and rockets and boats and everything that didn't move on land since the beginning of his time. Only thing that remotely reminded him of anything that a skypirate would use was Millennium Falcon in the old Star Wars.

But.. yes. It was Star Wars. As in, complete and utter fiction. Though Vaan couldn't help but me disappointed at that. How cool it would be... snapping from his daydream a little too quickly when the bell rang, he stumbled up and pouted at Penelo, who always had the most fun when watching her friend's clumsy actions.

"Vaan~ you do know what class is next?" She asked, dragging him out of the classroom, ever so eager. PE was her absolute favourite, especially because of the appearance of a new teacher with gorgeous legs. Not that Vaan had stared at her legs. But no woman had legs that long! He absent-mindedly wondered where she had come from, only snapping out of his daze because Penelo had started to huff next to him.

"Vaan! I know you're in love with miss Viera, but please, at least listen to what I've gotta to say!" She shook her finger and then started to jog down the corridor. Vaan had no choice but to follow.

This time, the PE class was mixed, since half of the girls had somehow magically stayed at home, apparently faking sickness. The class was to be held outside on the school grounds, baseball or something. Vaan groaned for the tenth time this day. He loathed baseball and was notoriously bad at it. Approaching the field didn't feel fun at all, especially with Larsa by his side, who was already yapping about his strategies for the day, or Penelo jogging behind them, laughing and eyes shining because she had sighted her new idol, Fran standing beside the field, still so very tall, even when changed out of her high heels, and a group of boys showering her with their love letters. Vaan sneered and kicked a stone, not preparing for the moment miss Viera turned to him, her ageless eyes so very distant.

The vision kicked hard this time, it was the first in three days, the last time had been when he visioned ashen-blonde-haired woman dressed in white standing beside his bedroom door. Vaan stopped at his tracks, eyes widening and staring. Fran stared back at him, but this time her clothes were.. no less than very provocative, kind of like a black armour, with a helmet and long bunny ears and a bow tied to her back. She managed to make herself look really intimidating, but even then, Vaan felt the familiar ache inside his chest, the one he had felt when he first heard the name Ivalice in his dreams.

If the vision had continued for longer, he was sure he would have started crying. Gladly, Penelo snapped her fingers in front of his face and asked if he was okay.

"I'm.. I'm.. uh.." he muttered and fidgeted, Larsa raised an eyebrow, but they closed the remaining distance to the field anyway. Fran looked normal again, or as normal as she could look, scanning the students gathered there.

"Settle down, kids." Had her voice always sounded so sensual, but so custodial at the same time? Vaan shivered and looked around for his dad, who was nowhere in sight. Maybe Basch was too preoccupied in the teacher's room -

"I apologize for being late," the gruff voice exlaimed and Vaan shrugged and grinned at his step-dad, who seemed to have ran from the school here. Basch shot him a look, but offered a tiny smile, then focusing on Fran, who watched him with indifference.

"We haven't started yet." They talked for a while and the rest of the class went by uneventfully. Vaan glanced at Basch from time to time, eager to tell him about his new vision and new dreams, since the last time the man hadn't said anything about the name Ivalice or his doubts about Balthier and Fran.

Or maybe Vaan should talk to Balthier, since he seemed to be the catalyst for the whole thing. The mere thought made him completely lose his concentration, blush and run into a classmate.

"Look where you're going, you airhead!" The big boy said and kicked him for good measure. Vaan yelped and pouted, muttering a tiny 'sorry," then stumbling forward to the dreaded literature-class.

The atmosphere was different compared to the last time Vaan was there and that was the day before yesterday. He stopped by the door, gaping and frowning and wondering what was so gradually different, Larsa and Penelo and Kytes were sitting in their places, professor Crowley was looking for his books, Balthier sitting near the teacher's table, writing something, his tight black trousers leaving nothing to imagination. Vaan coughed and quickly went to his seat, feeling mildly embarrassed. Penelo hid a grin and Larsa swallowed his teasing words, when the professor started the class.

Vaan pretty much missed the theme of the class for today, for he was too preoccupied in watching Balthier, frowning at the man and wondering how on earth he was going to talk to the man about all of the strange happenings. Maybe he had been daydreaming for the past week and a half? No way something like his dreams could be true, no matter how flushed he got when remembering _dream_-Balthier and his words that had felt magical. Drifting back from his La-La-land, he blinked, looked around and realized the class had already ended and that every student was backing their bags, Larsa yelled something about an appointment with his scary brother, Penelo wished Vaan good luck – for what! He yelled after her, but she only grinned – and patted his back and was gone.

.. Woah. A hand appeared on his desk, as did a hint of knowing smirk, as he leaned down and started to speak.

"Be good and stay here for a moment, Vaan. I have some things I would like to discuss with you," Balthier purred and then backed away a bit, waiting for the rest of the students to go, even those girls handing him their love letters. Which he brutally threw in to the garbage bin, muttering that he doesn't have the time to concentrate on teenage girls. Teenage boys, on the other hand, especially this one, he had the time.

"So."

".. S-So." Vaan blinked and felt a bit, okay, really nervous under the gaze that Balthier was targeting him with.

"We haven't had the chance to really talk yet, now, have we?" The blond shook his head and the older man smirked slightly at that, before his expression turned into a serious one.

"But now we have to. Something large is looming in the horizon," Vaan peeked out of the window but didn't see anything, without even realizing that maybe the man didn't mean literally, "and you're going to have a part in it. I know what you have seen." Balthier wasn't looking at him, his arms folded, staring out of the window, looking at something that wasn't visible to Vaan.

"Um.."

The man snorted and after a long moment of silence, turned to the boy.

"Ivalice." The name resonated within both of them, Vaan shivered and looked away, before he got caught by a memory of the dream-Balthier, fidgeting on his seat.

"But.. how can you know that name, what is all of this anyway!" He complained, though couldn't deny that his heart had started to beat faster at how the name had rolled of Balthier's tongue so very easily.

"Easy now," the man laughed shortly.

"What you have seen is a reflection from Ivalice, your mind woke up to its existence when us, me and Fran, came to this school. We came because of you. And your friends too, but to a lesser extent," Balthier explained but he could have blabbered on and on and Vaan still wouldn't have understood. His cynical side – he did have one, it just was.. very much hidden – told him that he was being stupid, that this man was being stupid, but his dominant childish side was jumping up and down. You should at least trust your own eyes, you know, he thought and nodded.

"Okay.. but.."

"No buts, Vaan." The way Balthier said his name sounded different now and Vaan flushed, pouting a bit.

"S-show me a proof then!" The man started to laugh.

"Do you not have all the proof in the world you need?" He continued, leaning forward over the student's desk and ruffling the boy's blond hair.

"This world is not for you. For us. And it has never been." Going serious again, Balthier lowered his – still dazzlingly handsome – face to Vaan's level and caught his stare and held it there. The boy couldn't turn his gaze away.

"You might remember living here since you were a little kid, but that is simply not true. You belong to Ivalice, _in_ Ivalice. I do not know why or how you are here or why your friends are here and do not seem to remember the adventures they went through – or else they would have recognized us for who we are - , but I know the reason why I and Fran were sent here." Balthier's slow grin sent a chill – a pleasurable one, mind you – down Vaan's spine.

"Once again, Ivalice needs heroes. The Gods -

"Do not smile upon us," said a third voice. The older man didn't even flinch, but the boy gaped. Fran didn't make a sound as she stepped inside the classroom, carefully closing the door behind her – her nails were really way too long – and coming to sit next to Vaan, those unnerving ageless eyes gazing at him with indifference.

"Ah, Fran. Indeed it is so, that the Gods of Ivalice has once again left us poor Humes – and one Viera – to do what we can to do. Of course, we wouldn't be doing any of this if our young Queen wouldn't have promised to pay us. There is, after all, a profit in everything," Balthier smiled like a panther.

Vaan's head was spinning, so he didn't catch that the man told Fran something, making something akin to a smile appear on the exotic face.

"I see," she said and then turned to Vaan, reaching out her long arm and touching the boy's face, making him wince, for her nails really were too long. But she didn't draw back her hand nor did she seem to care much, instead, she was concentrating. Balthier watched silently, seeing things that Vaan didn't see outside of the school.

Then it happened and Vaan felt like he was dreaming again. But this time the pictures, the feelings were there, so very real.

"Are these..?" He managed to mutter, not seeing the classroom or the other two, seeing himself and Penelo and Larsa.. and Basch with dark-haired man dressed in armour, and a woman with ashen-blonde hair. The ache, the pain was there again, longing for something so familiar and could even smell the sweet scent of Galbadian lilies, and the strange scents of the Bazaar. He saw and felt and knew that these were not merely dreams, but memories. He hadn't even realized that he said it aloud, snapping back to this side of the reality when Fran withdrew her hand.

Vaan's eyes were suddenly very large.

".. Wha?" Was the most intelligent answer he could manage. Balthier snorted.

"I think it is time for you to talk it over with you.. step-father. Basch was always a man of few words but for him to go to an entirely another world, it's quite incredible," he said, a little disbelieving, even when he didn't dare to say aloud that he had almost put the other members of their little group ahead of money. Almost.

"Even I was not informed about all the details and since this world shuns the Mist, it lessens the powers we have." Balthier shook his head.

For the first time, Vaan saw something like a hint of pain in the man's usually proud posture. Even it reminded him of something and made his head ache more than it did now.

"I..I..um..."

"Do not mind Balthier. He has been broody ever since we came here. As have I. We cannot be free in this world," Fran purred, her hand settling on the boy's shoulder.

"Ivalice is our home," she continued, sighing softly.

"And since our dear Queen," Balthier suddenly spoke, sarcasm in his voice, "needs help and the Gods are not listening, how could we say no?" Fran threw a look at the man, which only made him more amused. Vaan got a bit more confused, scratching his head.

"But.. why do you need me? I mean, that stuff, that I saw, I just thought I was going mad or.. wait, you haven't shown me any proof yet! Nothing more than witchcraft and.." Fran sighed and shook her head, saying that Humes never change. Balthier coughed – a long-forgotten conversation between the two, perhaps – and then opened the window.

"Please, look outside, Vaan. If that is not your proof, then by Gods, I do not what can I do to make you convinced. You are way more hard-headed than I remember." Vaan frowned, stood up from his seat and peeked outside of the window.

Well.

If that didn't make him convinced, then he was really stupid. The air-craft hovering just a bit over the tallest treetops near the school was like something out of the older Star Wars, though with a taste of fantasy within it. He rubbed his eyes, but the.. thing was still there, innocently hovering in its place, waiting for its masters to come. Balthier patted his shoulder.

"The Strahl, my princess and my lover," he said affectionally, Fran smiled a little and leaned back on the chair, throwing one long, long leg over the other. Vaan decided to be amazed instead of shocked, his eyes started to practically shine.

"That's so cool." All the confusion and irritation forgotten – his concentration really did not stay for long in one thing – he tried to look closer. That thing was definitely real. He didn't even wonder why no one else seemed to see it, in a matter of seconds, a little boy-ish exitement had made him throw the rest of his remaining brain cells to the previously mentioned garbage bin. Even if he did not remember a thing about being in Ivalice before, but … wait a minute. He turned to the other two in the classroom and frowned.

".. Than you remember? Huh? Have we met before?" Balthier and Fran exchanged looks, the former, amused, the latter, indifferent again.

"Yes, Vaan. You were born in the small kingdom of Dalmasca which you and us and a few others saved from the clutches of the Empire. We have met. That happened about a year ago, you and your friends, as well as your step-father came here then by a twist of fate. Do you really not remember?" The older man leaned closer and Vaan smelled the scent of danger and gunpowder from him. A small part of him started to believe that he wasn't dreaming.

"I don't.. but you guys seemed familiar when you came. I just thought it was because.. um..." the boy went quiet again, suddenly embarrassed to say it. Balthier snorted.

"Never mind that now, you rascal. Go home and talk to mister von Rosenburg," sarcasm, again, "and come to us tomorrow. We will talk to your friends later on," he commanded, Fran nodded in addition and Vaan couldn't find it in himself to say no.

"O-okay, but.. okay, I'll.. just go."

He half-ran out of the room, leaving the two to themselves.

"I miss my leather-trousers," Balthier hid a yawn behind his hands. Fran stood up.

"At least you are a Hume, like the rest of this world's population. I wouldn't want to be mistaken for a shameless playboybunny," she said blankly, making the man smirk predatorishly.

"I am the leading man, have you forgotten? I do not mind hiding in the midst of this world for a while, if I get such a fine profit out of this. Though I admit, the air is suffocating here. I pity you, Fran, for you have to hide your true self under a Hume-disguise." If Fran wasn't so used to the man, she would have probably hit him.

Suddenly, she missed her bow. Very much.

–

Sorry for short, short chapter and more confusion that I most likely created.

Next up, Basch's reaction to what Vaan tells him, more visions and some tricky, tricky decisions. The new threat that hangs over Ivalice is.. ?


End file.
